Running at almost 400-pages, and packed with superb artwork
(paintings, photographs and drawings), this is one of those books that
is not only highly informative, but (just like all the books from our Iowa-based Dynamic
Duo) it's written in an entertaining and atmospheric style that captures
the imagination of the reader from page-one, and holds their attention
throughout.

With that said, what about the content? Well, now we
get to the really good stuff. Whether you're a Ufological veteran or a
relative newcomer to the scene, Real Aliens will serve
as a perfect resource tool - one from which you'll (a) learn
a great deal about the nature of the UFO puzzle, (b) gain
new insights and appreciations of cases old and recent, and (c) come
to realize the sheer enormity and multifaceted nature of the phenomenon.

The book is split into specific sections, which I particular
enjoyed, as it allows the reader to dip into whichever area they choose
to first, and doing so doesn't affect one's ability to understand and appreciate
the data under scrutiny either.

So, we get sections on the many and varied types of entity
that have been reported over the decades, including, of course, those pesky,
black-eyed dwarfs: the Grays. Detailing intriguing and, sometimes, harrowing
data, as well as the possibility that the Grays may well be time-surfers,
this is an excellent section that gets to the heart of the agenda of the
pasty, skinny abductors from beyond.

Those long-haired hippie-like E.T.'s that came tumbling
out of the deserts of California, Arizona and Nevada in the early-1950s
- the Nordic Space Brothers - are also the subject of an excellent chapter
that provides a very good, solid account of this particularly engaging
(to me anyway) aspect of the UFO issue. Who are the Nordics? Are they friends?
Messengers? Deceptive entities with devious agendas? You know what to do
to get those answers: buy the book!

Our fearless authors also take another very welcome blast
into the past: in search of hairy humanoids, such as those diminutive types
that popped up in the early '50s, and, of course, the world's most famous
hair-covered man-beast: Bigfoot. I've said it before, but that won't stop
me saying it again: Bigfoot is not just weird and elusive. Rather, Bigfoot
is just too damn weird and elusive! And Brad and Sherry
make this amply clear in Real Aliens, by chronicling a number
of significant cases that push Bigfoot into distinctly Fortean territories.

I was very pleased to see a whole chapter devoted to
one of those ufological beasts that doesn't usually get the attention it
deserves, and as a result, often languishes in somewhat of a degree of
enigmatic obscurity: the Praying Mantis. Insect-like, slightly ominous
(and almost echoing imagery of the classic 1950s movie, Them!),
one gets the feeling from reading this particular chapter that these entities
(whatever their origins) play a substantial, and under-appreciated role
in the non-human agenda.

And there are further chapters on the other-world critters
too, including the more-than-ominous Reptilians, and robotic types reminiscent
ofGort from The Day the Earth Stood Still (I
mean the 1951 original; not the recent remake).

Moving on from specifically the alien entities themselves:
if you're into stories of underground bases, underwater installations,
and cavernous abodes of a type that would have had Richard Shaver and Ray
Palmer foaming at the mouth, you're in for a treat. Have beings from other
realms of existence secretly established outposts on (and under) our world?
Do they secretly move among us, at night, after surfacing from their darkened
abodes? Might some of these creatures represent the last vestiges of a
very ancient race of terrestrial - rather than extraterrestrial - origins?
You'll find a great deal of food for thought on these very issues in this
particular chapter.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to have
sex with a blistering hot, Barbarella-style space-babe? Go
on, admit it: of course you have! After all, who could
say no to Truman Bethurum's flirty and curvy Aura Rhanes?

Certainly, the most famous of all such cases - described
in detail in Real Aliens - is that of a certain Antonio
Villas Boas of Brazil, whose October 1957 encounter with an attractive
chick of the cosmic kind, is now near-legendary. But, as the Steiger's
correctly note, some such cases seem downright malevolent, and appear to
demonstrate characteristics suggestive of encounters with incubus and succubi,
rather than with flesh-and-blood E.T.'s. So, after reading this chapter,
you might want to be very careful with respect to what you wish for...

Kind of on a similar path, the highly controversial issue
of alien-human hybrids is also given the Steiger treatment. To many, this
issue is all indicative of a clandestine, genetic program - and maybe one
that has a disturbing agenda. Namely: to infiltrate our society with human-looking
aliens. Sleepers, in other words. I was, however, pleased to see that Brad
and Sherry note the deep and undeniable parallels between alien abduction,
hybrids and kidnapped babies, and the centuries old stories of people who
claimed to have met the fairy-folk. Are we dealing with real E.T.'s? Or
is this a presently unfathomable puzzle that, depending on the culture,
the people and the time-frame, manifests in a multiplicity of forms: extraterrestrials,
fairies, goblins, Djinns, etc, etc? All in all, this is a very good section
of Real Aliens that demonstrates one of the weirder aspects
of the entire phenomenon.

Certainly, in my opinion, the most fascinating chapter
is that titled Aliens: Deceivers or Deliverers? This one
gets to the very crux of the saucer enigma, and demonstrates (a) the
undeniable fact that just because some entity, or disembodied voice, claims
to have alien origins, it may be pure folly to take it at its word, and (b) the
notable crossovers and parallels between messages from alleged aliens and
those communications secured via psychic means. Friendly entities from
far away, or our ultimate nightmare manifesting in kindly, camouflaged
form? I hope the former; however, I often suspect it's really the latter...

And, in summary, you'll also find a wealth of data in
the packed pages of this book on the E.T. connection to religion (both
in times-past and times-present); astronaut encounters with UFOs; an absolutely
classic early Man in Black experience; connections between the Nazis, UFOs,
and the occult realm; presidential knowledge of UFOs; and a great deal
more.

Real Aliens is a highly
enjoyable, deeply absorbing, and immensely informative title that - by
covering so much wide and varied territory - makes it abundantly clear
that there is a very real UFO presence in our world. And it's one that
has been interacting with us for a very, verylong time - and
often at a deeply personal level, too. But, it's also a phenomenon that
clearly has the upper-hand. Sometimes it exhibits friendliness, at other
times it displays Trickster-style characteristics, and on more than a few
occasions it's downright malevolent and malignant.

So, in summary with respect to Real Aliens,
what can I say but: A definitive encyclopedia of the extraterrestrial variety!

Real Aliens, Space Beings And Creatures
From Other Worlds

Review By Kevin Randle

5-16-11

Brad and Sherry Steiger (seen here) have turned out another
winner with their Real Aliens, Space Beings and Creatures from Other
Worlds. The title, I think, says it all. This is a book about aliens,
hough not necessarily from other planets.

"What does that mean?" you might ask.

We'll get to that in a moment. First I should point out
that I have known Brad Steiger for decades. We have talked on the telephone
many times, we have emailed one another frequently, and we have appeared
on radio shows that the other hosted. I knew, when I had a Saturday evening
show on KTSM that I could always call Brad at the last minute if a guest
canceled, and I knew that he would be an interesting interview.

The first time that I spoke to him, which I'm sure he doesn't
remember was as I was writing my first book on the paranormal. As a reference,
I was using a book he had written. I was interested in the story of Oliver
Thomas, a Welsh lad who had vanished in 1909 as he carried water from the
family well.

I happened to know where Brad lived at the time and I was
able to get his telephone number from directory assistance. I called and
asked my question about the case.

"It's a hoax," Brad told me.

He said that he had learned that after his book was published,
but he was quick to point out the truth, now that he had it. His philosophy
at the time was to believe what people told him until he learned that they
couldn't be trusted. I thought it was a fine philosophy even if it let you
down sometimes...

My own experience has been that too many people will lie
about too much for reasons that seem to be vague. They'll lie for the personal
glory. They'll lie for the little fame it might bring them. They'll lie
to put one over on someone else. They'll lie just for the hell of it.

Anyway, Brad was quick to tell me the truth and I certainly
appreciated that.

So now we have a new book by Brad and Sherry and it is
a compendium of tales about alien creatures that might come from other planets,
might be travelers from our future or might be interdimensional beings.
They cover all the theories here.

They begin with the biggest of the UFO cases which is the
Roswell UFO crash and wind their way through the history of alien contact
whether from the contactees of the 1950s, the abductees of the 1990s or
the sightings by people of strange being s throughout the centuries.

This is a book for the novice, who has just discovered
the UFO field. It provides the basics to understanding where we have gone
since the beginning, providing a glimpse into UFOs.

This is a book for those who have been around for a while
but who have had their research diverted into one of the many subset of
the UFO phenomenon. It provides the basic information so that detailed research
can be designed for a long term study.

For those who wish a good primer on UFOs, and for those
who wish an encyclopedia of information about the last fifty or sixty years
of alien adventures, this is the book to have. It is literally everything
to everyone.

If I were to complain about it, I would mention that it
is not as detailed as I would like, but then the book would probably have
been so big that you'd need a crane to lift it. If there is a case for which
I need additional information, Real Aliens, Space Beings, and Creatures
from Other Worlds provides the starting point. It gives me the
clues I need for my specialized research.

This is one of those books that belongs in every UFO researchers'
library. And if you're not one of those, a UFO researcher, then it is just
a fun read. Informative, provocative, and intelligent. A valuable resource.